May 4, 1959: The first-ever Grammy Awards were held simultaneously in Los Angeles and New York. Domenico Modugno’s "Volare" took home Record of the Year, beating out Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee.
1967 Jimi Hendrix was famously arrested at Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport after a hotel room was trashed during a tour stop. While usually cited as a standard "rock star" moment, it nearly resulted in him being banned from Sweden.
1964: The Moody Blues officially formed in Birmingham, England.
1968: Steppenwolf made their US television debut on American Bandstand, performing "Born to Be Wild."
1973: Led Zeppelin kicked off their 1973 North American tour in Atlanta. This tour became famous for breaking box office records previously held by The Beatles.
May 5, 1968: Buffalo Springfield played their final show at the Long Beach Arena.
May 7, 1998: Apple Computer (Steve Jobs) and Apple Corps (The Beatles) headed back to court. The dispute was over whether the computer company had violated an agreement not to enter the music business. This tension is why it took until 2010 for The Beatles to finally appear on iTunes
May 8, 1984 While the public didn't fully grasp the finality of it yet, this week marked a peak in the legal acrimony where Roger Waters attempted to "dissolve" the band by declaring it a "spent force." The remaining members obviously disagreed, leading to years of litigation over who owned the name.
May 9, 1966: The Doors were fired as the house band at the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles. The reason? Jim Morrison’s first public performance of the controversial "Oedipal" section of the song "The End." If they hadn't been fired that night, they might not have been free to sign their career-defining deal with Elektra Records shortly after.
May 10, 1968: Jim Morrison of The Doors reportedly incited a riot during a concert in Chicago, leading to a chaotic scene where fans rushed and eventually destroyed the stage.
May 10, 1974: Led Zeppelin launched their own record label, Swan Song Records, with a legendary, star-studded party.
photo "Jimi Hendrix : Acrylic on canvas" by amalakar is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
